Wednesday, April 08, 2015

Spain could face 50 degree heatwaves by 2050

Spain could face heatwaves with temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius
by the year 2050, according to a report on the effects of climate
change published on Tuesday.

The document, "1950-2050: The Impact
of Climate Change in Spain and Europe: perception and impact," was
drawn up for the environmentalist party Equo by Spanish climatologist,
Jonathan Gomez Cantero.The report describes climate change as
"one of the worst environmental disasters in human history" and predicts
a future in which Spain suffers from extreme heat in summer with
"heatwaves regularly reaching 50 degrees Celsius."

This, and a
rise in average yearly temperature of between 4 and 5 degrees Celsius
would lead to a lack of water resources, although at the same time there
would be increased damage caused by frequent torrential rainstorms.

"The
sooner the measures and policies are put into place to reduce CO2
emissions and lower the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere, the sooner we can try and avoid these impacts," said the
report.

The report's stark warning was: "If we do not adopt these measures soon, the changes will be irreversible."

The
study explains that given Spain's geographical situation in the south
of Europe, with one seaboard on the Atlantic Ocean and another in the
Mediterranean, the country will feel the effects of climate change more
drastically than many other nations in the European Union.

According
to Gomez Cantero, the proximity to the Atlantic will leave Spain
exposed to "huge storm systems," and the damage they cause such as
flooding and coastal erosion. Meanwhile, the temperature on the surface
of the Mediterranean can be expected to rise and Spain will be exposed
to dust storms originating from the Sahara.

As well, greater
evaporation caused by higher temperatures, combined with reduced average
rainfall, would see water resources fall by 16 percent, the equivalent
of 20,000 hectometers of water.

This would cause serious problems
for Spanish agriculture, producing a negative economic impact,
especially for olive, wine and fruit producers, while Spain's valuable
wetlands such as Donana in southwestern Spain could disappear
completely, the report said.Xinhua - globaltimes.cn8/4/15--

EL Kaos UT

The UN has imposed a 2013 deadline for the submission of scientific claims to the Arctic seabed. It is the precursor to a resource boom which would see Canada, the US, Russia, Norway and Greenland all attempt to exploit the region's resources.